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Plotting A Course: What’s Next For Zelda 3DS?

JesseFebruary 11th, 2012 by Jesse

Chris Buffa of MODOJO has recently published an article on his views of the next Zelda game for the Nintendo 3DS. In it he discusses everything from the many different art and graphical style the upcoming game could use to how the gameplay would map out on the new controller with the use of an analog stick and touch controls both being available for use. He makes some suggestions on what it would take to build the perfect Zelda game for the 3DS.

Go ahead and make the jump for more from his article, my views on the subject, and a chance to give your own opinions.

One million copies of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D were sold a little over a month after the game’s release, reinforcing what we already knew: hardcore Nintendo fans are still hungry for more Link.

That said, it appears the publisher has big plans for its celebrated franchise. Apparently, there have been talks within the company of porting the N64 classic, Majora’s Mask, to 3DS, which would be a smart idea.

Before that happens, though, we’ll receive at least one new entry in the series. What direction this game will take, though, remains to be seen.

With this in mind, here’s a look at what may happen, as well as the decisions Nintendo will face in the months and years ahead.

Be sure to let us know where you think Zelda’s headed.

Choosing the best visual style

Nintendo has a few options for the new Zelda’s graphics, none of which are wrong per se. There’s cell shaded Link, as seen in Wind Waker and the DS titles, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit”>http://www.modojo.com/games/ds/the_legend_of_zelda_spirit_tracks/”>Spirit Tracks. From there, Mario and Co. could always go with the more mature theme that made Ocarina and Twilight Princess so popular, as well as the Wii U demo floating around. Finally, we have the art from Skyward Sword, which straddles both mature and cartoon at the same time.

We have no doubt 3DS is capable of displaying each of these visual styles. Bottom line, Nintendo won’t please everyone.

Our guess? Skyward Sword’s graphics get the nod. Sorry, toon Link.

You can follow the link HERE to continue reading his article where he goes on to discuss the control scheme, selecting the right gimmick, and the over all X-factor for Zelda 3DS.

Personally, I would love to see another game revolving around The Hero of Time. I would love to know what kind of epic journey Link went on after leaving Termina. Maybe he ventured back to Hyrule to find it had completely changed from the time he had left it. I love the revamped art style of OoT 3D and would love to see an even more enhanced version of it. To see a Zelda game actually built with 3D in mind and the enhanced art style would be fantastic. The control layout of OoT is perfect already, so no need in changing it back to touch controls. Although, I would love to see it implemented in some way, I feel it wouldn’t be necessary to completely ignore the buttons and the new analog stick. Maybe even take advantage of the second analog pad add on. The last part I would love to see aside from it taking full use of the 3DS’s graphical power is using all the storage space available. The Legend of Zelda OoT 3D uses about only half of one GB. Other titles such as Resident Evil for the 3DS use 4 GB or more. I would love to see all the extra content, side quests, graphical improvements, and other stuff that could be used in all of that extra space on a 3DS cartridge.

Let us know what you would like to see in Zelda 3DS.

Source: MODOJO

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Category: 3DS, Phantom Hourglass, Publications, Spirit Tracks, Zelda 3DS
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  • You-Know-Who

    By looking at the timeline, I see a MINIMUM of 6 possible games!

    • Newbie

      thinking a bit ahead aren’t we? 

      • Ganondork

         In about 20 years or less that will be the past. :3

        • Newbie

          it hasn’t been twenty years yet though.

          • Anonymous

            Zelda has been alive for 25 years

          • Twilighttakesover

            lol yeah

  • Wcaton25

    I also would love to see another Hero of Time Zelda game.

  • Herp

    I just want a Zelda 3DS game that is a Skyward Sword sequel. I LOVED that game. 

    • Twilighttakesover

      ik r? isnt it the BEST zelda game of all time?? :D

  • ocarina hero

    i dont really care about the graphics but i like the skyward sword graphics and the toon link they have already used it so much i dont think it matters but my vote goes for skyward sword

  • Guest

    Please let us be young link, hes young but epic. Ive had enough of adult link and toon link.

  • Alex211954

    A link to the past 3D would be the best!!I don’t expect to see Spirit Tracks because  the trains and the spirit of Princess Zelda don’t fit very well in 3D . . . .So the only solutions are either Majora’s Mask or A link to the past.

  • Guth75

    Legend of Zelda games have always been set a bit back in the day tbh. Not that I mind because I love them all but personally I think it would be great to see a futuristic Zelda game. What Hyrule looks like 500 years from now has me intrigued. Skyward scrapers, mechanical animals, computers, cities et al. Love it or hate it it would most certainly be different!

  • http://profiles.google.com/kristin.laflin Kristin Laflin

    Personally, I would like to see a continued use of OOT3D’s control system. Obviously with a bit more touch-screen use, but not too much. I thought the OOT3D controls were near-perfect.

    As for story, I’m sure I’ll like whatever they come up with. And art style? As much as I like the cell-shaded style, I’m fairly sick of it. They’ve used it, and similar art styles, for waaay too many games. I’d like something new, please.

    • Tacania

      Enter Twilight Princess graphics…

  • Linkfan98

    I think they should put Majora’s Mask out for 3ds and mabye Wind Waker

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=598901105 Jesse McCarty

      too many remakes would be a hassle. =(

    • Ryan Farmer

      They just did a remake, enough with the remakes for now. Time and resources would be better spent on a new adventure, especially since there hasn’t been one yet on the 3DS.

    • Guest

      Majora’s Mask remake on the 3DS, yes! But Wind Waker should wait and be on the next handheld, and it doesn’t need a remake since it runs fine and has lovely graphics.

    • Twilighttakesover

      -GASP- YES!!!

  • http://www.wix.com/stenaven/stenavenindustries Stenaven

    Maybe a game where you travel between dimensions of the Toon Link world and the “normal” Link world? And/or being able to change between Adult and Young link would be cool too. Many more side quests would be a great add-on too.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=598901105 Jesse McCarty

      What would be the reasoning behind it?

      • Ganondork

         The Links realized fans prefer different art styles so they go out of their way to get all of each other into one game. Lol

    • Mrgaful

      a game where Link can change between Adult and Young Link? It already exists and its called “Ocarina of Time”

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/robotortoise Robotortoise

    I just hope whatever they do, they take their time on it.

    OOT3D was amazing, but there were some obvious nods to the short development period (Ganondorf frame rate drop, clipping while using Gyro controls, ect.)

    • Ganondork

      Yeah the Ganondorf part really surprised me. I was all like “Holy poop this feels like the original again!”. Also at the same time I was all like “UNLAG UNLAG UNLAG UNLAG!!!”.

    • Anonymous

      I loved the gyro controls, it made it so easier to get you sights on a target, I found the rupee target shooting game much easier to win. But the Ganondorf frame rate drop (Guess you could call it lagg) didn’t surprise me because of Spirit Tracks.

      • http://www.youtube.com/user/robotortoise Robotortoise

        Ditto with the gyro controls. I was referring to the camera clipping through the scenery when Z-targeting on the Gyro controls.

        In Spirit Tracks, the frame rate drops were probably unavoidable. The game just needed more RAM available during certain parts (like the enemy train attacks)

        Ganondorf was laggy because there were so many objects at once when you attack him.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/5SYUHEEPCFFTZHPEYDZ7CLPQ2U Link

    Skyward sword is a awesome game.  I am working on the hero mode now.  I just go the heart medal.  I got 22 or so gratitude crystals.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=598901105 Jesse McCarty

      Congrats! =)

  • Feanen

    I doubt we’ll be seeing full touchscreen control a la Phantom Hourglass again. To make use of the 3D visuals the main action has to go on top. Frankly, as somebody who disliked stylus control, that’s a huge plus – the touch screen works better for me when it’s inventory and menus. I do hope we can draw and write on maps, though – that was so useful I miss it in every other Zelda game.

    • Ganondork

       Yea, you’re completely right. xD But I won’t mind it as much if you could move around with the control pad/slider instead of touching the screen. It makes it feel all weird.

  • Anonymous

    i just really want a sequel to spirit tracks, but i want it to be OoT 3ds style

    • Anonymous

      Next instead of trains, they could use cars! and Links companion would be a transforming car! Jk. But I would like to see where they are going in the line of New Hyrule. Maybe somehow the new Link discovers the old civilization on islands (from WW) and takes a boat onto the sea. He can use a deep sea claw and find Ganondorf in statue form and he would draw the Master Sword, somehow making him come back to life…… there are a ton of possibilities Nintendo could do with the WW timeline, but I do hope that they don’t make it more technologically advanced modes of transportation. Zelda is supposed to be mid-evile, not modern.

      • Anonymous

        yes zelda is suppose to be mid-evile but spirit tracks combined modern and mid-evile together and i really like that mix.

  • nicka

    nintendo has never been big into the online aspect of games i think they should make a online zelda game where there are other real players maybe you could be a goron or hylian or gerudo or zora i think it would be fun but there are some tech problems with it  

    • Speedsk8

      they seem to be thinking about that. if you go to the esrb site then search for “zelda”, towards the bottom of the page there is a game called Zelda Universe, which is online. if you don’t believe me, go here 
      http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp?title=zelda&fromHome=fromHome

      • Twilighttakesover

        :O omg rly?….. i have to try dat…… :)

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=598901105 Jesse McCarty

      Zelda MMO =)

    • Kablamogroup

      I personally have never been a fan of MMO’s, so I can’t say how fond I am of the idea of a Zelda MMO. Don’t get me wrong, I would definately try it, if they made it. The problem is, I don’t like the idea of online memberships (it gets to be quite expensive), and I’m not that great of a multiplayer gamer (if I had to play a game with someone else, it would have to be co-op for me; what can I say? I’m not very competitive). But, like I said, I would try it, just because it’s Zelda.

  • Gameatron562

    *cough*female link *cough*

    • Anonymous

      No. That is the kind of change nobody really wants to see

      • Anonymous

        I agree with Debby, a Female Link would be really weird.

        • Anonymous

          Not to mention hard to adjust to 

          • Anonymous

            Link, a female hero saving prince zelda…

          • Twilighttakesover

            lol creeeppyyy beyond beleif

    • bob

      Then link would be a creeper would tries to save other female princesses

  • hyliansword

    i want a sequel to majoras mask with 0ot art style

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=598901105 Jesse McCarty

      MM technically had a better art style =P

    • Ganondork

       Updated MM graphics instead?

  • LinksDestiny

    I would love to have a 3ds game using SS graphics. But I agree with you, Jesse. A sequel to MM would be pretty neat.

  • Kablamogroup

    What I would like to see is a teen-aged Link in 3D. In case nobody noticed, all the 3D Zelda titles either featured Link as a young pre-teen or as a young adult. How about something in between?

    Also, all the teen-aged Links have been in 2D (ALttP, LA, and the Oracle games). I am judging him to be a teen in these ones simply because the artwork shows him looking older than Young Link, but younger than Adult Link. I think the only Zelda game that I actually read an official premise on that confirmed Link to be a teenager was AOL.

    So, yeah, Teen Link is my vote, with an art style and gameplay style similar to OOT 3D. Heck, he could be in High School, and they could throw in some Angst; not that either of these things are necessary; I just think they could flesh him out, and provide some nice character flaws to resolve in the end.

    • Ganondork

      Yea we really have never seen a teen Link before. Well, in 3D games that is.

    • Kablamogroup

      By the way, has anyone noticed that Link rarely has any significant character flaws? I mean, other than the fact that he’s shown as kinda lazy in the begining of most games, and that he sometimes jumps into situations without thinking? Other than these minor things, he usually doesn’t display any characteristics that he really needs to change about himself to better himself as a person.

  • pokemon brown

    I thought of an idea for a twilight princess sequel. So it turns out midna was using you and is now treating the twili harshly but a twili with extremely powerful magic teleports to the light world and finds link, and the game goes on from there. I realize this is probably a silly idea but tell me what you think

    • Ganondork

       This doesn’t sound that bad actually. I would play it.

    • Anonymous

      sounds almost exactly like what happened with zant

    • Anonymous

      No. Just no. That would just ruin her character, as well make a total U-turn on her character development. And anyways, she did start off using you in Twilight Princess, to get the Fused Shadows for her. She didn’t start caring about you until later in the game

      • Twilighttakesover

        yeah pokemon it just sounds stupid

  • LordRyuujin

    I say make it more like Skyward Sword. Have it use the Circle Pad Pro in some way (you know Nintendo loves to REQUIRE something for their Zelda games) and best of all, make it work with Zelda Wii-U in some way. Maybe a back and forth system where in order to unlock a secret dungeon (per example) you need to connect both the 3DS and Wii-U games ala the Oracle games. But make them stand alone to where you dont have to do that, but it gives you something for your trouble if you do. This is just an idea though.

    • Anonymous

      I don’t see how using the circle pad pro would help in any way. None of the 3D zeldas have really needed dual analog. Wind Waker used the c stick but there is really no need for it.

  • Anonymous

    Just a crazy idea but i would like to see a quest with ocarinas link as an old man with his son and they both have to defeat the evil tingle in a epic adventure.

  • Ganondork

     Well I would want a Zelda game in between SS and MC with a bit of a darker tone. I don’t want SS Link in it though. About 500-1000 years after SS, Hyrule would still be in development and the world is settling in. Then maybe a new villan or Ganondorf or someone come in and their all like “Hey, I be ruling yo world pussy cats.”. And then a boy in a green clad comes to save the day. The graphics should be a darker version on OoT3D’s graphics, more realistic and darker.

  • Ryan Farmer

    As far a graphical styles go, I’d like to see the next Zelda 3DS game go the way of Skyward Sword. I think the more cartoony styles fit really well with hand helds. As for the Wii-U Zelda, I’d like to see realistic graphics to really show of the power of the system.

  • Anonymous

    I would love to see a Zelda game using the full graphical power of the 3DS, because like Jesse said, Resident Evil Revelations has some pretty amazing graphics compared to other 3DS games. Of course, story and gameplay come before graphics, but that doesn’t mean graphics shouldn’t be a major focus when making a new game

  • Princess Zelda

    It would be awesome to have Majora’s Mask for the 3DS. Personally, Majora’s Mask is my favorite Zelda game in the series. If some more Zelda games are for the 3DS, I would have to buy a 3DS. I think it would be cool if Nintendo make the next Zelda game to be built off of Skyward Sword, but with a twist. 

    • Fihassomestupidremarks

      no no, thats what they did with ocarina of time and it took them a LONG time to recover from that. an 11 years of SS? idts

  • Mike

    Except they said they’ll never use Skyward Sword’s graphic style again because of the nature of the game

  • Guest

    I really don’t want to see another game about the Hero of Time. I love him, but he has had two wonderful games, he’s appeared in a third game as a ghost, he’s a very important Link in that he’s responsible for Hyrule’s three-way timeline split and is remembered as a legend in many of the games in those timelines… that’s enough. If they use the models from Ocarina of Time 3D for another game it should be Majora’s Mask 3D and that’s it, make new models for the next game. And a new Link.

    Besides, it’s been so long since the first two, a third would loose the feeling that OoT and MM have.

  • Dark_Tooth69

    I would really like to see a sequel to mm with an OLD Link like 30 still searching for navi 

    • Adventurer S

      That would make Link seem like Tingle: some old fart who is still looking for a fairy even though e’s probable NEVER going to “find” one.

  • Anonymous

    The only thing I hated about OoT3D was the button changes for the ocarina, I don’t know why they didn’t use the original C-button layout for the a,b,x,y and make L or R for A.

  • COLD BLOODED

    they should do a game where you start by choosing to be raised by gorons zoras or hylians and each path will change the way the game is

  • A_LINK_IN_TIME

    Skyward Sword graphics?  No way.  Ocarina of Time graphics appear most likely. 

  • Quest

    I agree! I would love to see another game about the hero of time. Just to know what happened after Terminia, just a great new game to close his adventure. (And I really want to know how he became the hero’s shade in TP ^^)

  • Phantom Roxas

    I agree that Zelda 3DS should be a new game for the Hero of Time, but it should be the conclusion. However, if that’s the plan, then they should make it after Majora’s Mask 3D. They could always change their plan for the order of releases between MM3D and Zelda 3DS, but remember that Zelda 3DS is supposed to have no connection to any of the previous games. 

    So basically, Zelda 3DS -> MM3D -> New Hero of Time game.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6PVRCKCPLKG4TTDIKDX6ZCMBQI steinhauershawn

    They should port the Original Wind Waker so the entire Wind Waker Saga along with Phantom Hourglass and Spirit tracks can be played on 3DS in a non-stop manner.

  • Abdulink

    You know what? MM sequel would shake the world. I always hoped for one, really did. OoT was my first and is still my most loved Zelda, it’s sequel is just as good, and another sequel would be just great. I always wondered in the ending of MM what would Link be doing right now…

  • Nicholasgbarbera

    MM3D FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • Mow123

    I think its okay that they are doing MM, but I hope they add some to it. Oot 3d had very little added but it had master quest so it felt like you where getting a lot even if you already had OoT. I think they should make a MM master quest type thing. Mirror the world and mix up the dungeons a little. So you would have two games in one again. They could really change up things too if they wanted to. The only reason I would buy it again is cause the collectors edition one crashes a lot.

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  • CaffieKuriboh

    I think since the DS titles have kinda been going forward into a kind of early industrial era that the new game should be alittle more modern (no I’m not talking about futuristic) like instead of bows, there would be crossbows instead and maybe a portion of the game would sort of a wild west theme like in the secret village in Twilight Princess only instead of gun slingers, there’d be guys with bows/crossbows and short swords for faster swings (the melee equivilant to drawing a gun really fast).  Also, we know there are cannons in the Zelda universe but what if the bad guys started trying to use them for combat?  Like they could have a boss (a Darknut) thats heavly armored and is holding a cannon that you have to either dodge or take cover and slowly move up to it to attack.  Maybe they can even bring back the magic cloak (a link to the past) only it turns you invisible in the shadows and there could be level where you have to light/extinguish torches to create shadows so you can sneak past an enemy or an obstical.

    Come what may, if its a Zelda game, you know somebody is gonna enjoy it. XD 

  • Spivey2611

    I also would like a continuation of the Hero of Time Journey, it would be really fitting if Majora’s Mas came out as well and all 3 had the same graphics e.c.t. to tie them all together. Personally, I would like Link to travel to a new Land and undergo a new adventure on this new 3Ds title, like Links awakening or spirit tracks.

  • Neutopia

    I am sure that no matter what they end up doing with Zelda on the 3DS I would absolutely love it, this franchise is amazing, always has been and always will be.  :D